Tag Archives: donations

A little late in posting this, but I’m sure by now everyone would be aware of the devastating earthquakes and tsunami that have hit Japan. At this point, although I feel terribly sad for the country and its people who have to fight the aftermath of the disaster, I am also extremely grateful that my friends in Japan are safe and alright.

There are many organizations fundraising for Japan right now, so remember to check the authenticity of the source, and how your contributions will be made use of, if you intend to donate!

But these organisations have been mentioned a gazillion times over in the last few days, so I will talk about another area of rescue that also needs help.

It is natural that animal rescue might end up taking a backseat in times of disaster because efforts are concentrated mostly on people. But let us not completely forget the animals that have lost their homes, been separated from family, or have been injured during the quake. My pets have always been considered part of my family, and so I cannot imagine how terrible it would be to lose them in a disaster.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that animal rescue is more important than the other disaster relief efforts! But perhaps if like me, you feel strongly about this cause, you might also want to consider contributing to animal rescue in Japan in addition to your donation to perhaps, The Red Cross through reliable sources like:

The Kinship Circle also has a very clear and comprehensive report of the many organizations involved in Animal Rescue here.

I was interested in donating to JEARS in particular because they were specially set up to provide support in animal rescue for this particular disaster. Being extra-doubly cautious, I did quite a fair bit of background checks on the groups that made up this coalition.

The three groups involved, HEART Tohoku, Japan Cat Network and Animal Friends Niigata, all have a no-kill policy and are well-established in Japan. To put most skeptics at ease, each group have posted either clear updates with photos on their rescue activites, or announced their collaboration efforts under JEARS on their respective websites. Furthermore, the Coalition has been very transparent so far about their activities, so you know exactly what your financial or non-financial donations are going into.

Hopefully this tiny background read up I did might help to put some hearts at ease about donating to Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support!! Again, regardless of how much you want to donate, please make sure it goes to a reliable organization.

Let’s all hope that with all the help people are offering, Japan will be able to overcome this.